Sweetest Addiction Redux
by Hana Mitsubishi
Summary: "Hey, trust me. I can help." She so desperately wants to believe him, so desperately wants to smile and nod. But she slips her hand out of his and looks away. Because she lost the ability to believe a long time ago. AU InuKag


**Chapter One: New Life, Same Life**

Kagome washed the morning dishes and sighed heavily. The time on the daisy covered clock by the corner of the small kitchen read seven fifty-two. It was that late? Shit, she would have to hurry. She picked up the pace on washing the dishes. She pulled her hands out of the hot rinse water and ran wet fingers through her long, black hair.

"Kagome!"

She froze. Oh no, please not this morning. Please, anyone out there, don't let her start this morning, she pleaded to any deity.

"Kagome!"

She turned to the open doorway. She sounded pretty close. Clear, blue eyes widened. Oh shit, she panicked. She threw her hands into the water, hoping she wouldn't be caught.

Too late.

Her aunt's lip curled. "Why were your hands out of the water, Kagome?" She grabbed her arm in a tight grip and pulled her close. "You're supposed to be doing your chores—not playing around!"

Kagome bowed her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

A corner of her upper lip rose into a slight smirk. "You better be sorry, you useless girl," she said. "Now, hurry up with your chores before you're late for school. I will not accept any tardiness in this household, is that understood?" When Kagome agreed, she released her arm and then stepped out of the kitchen.

Kagome counted her footsteps in order to make sure her aunt was gone. When she was absolutely sure, her body sagged in relief. "Fuck," she whispered into the now empty kitchen. "This is not going to be a good day." She finished the dishes and the other miscellaneous chores and then left to get ready for school.

Later, she, her brother, and their aunt gathered into the car. Her brother was dropped off first. When they were in front of her new school, her aunt turned to her with a mocking hundred watt smile.

"Listen here, Kagome," she started, sweetly, "You better not tell anyone about your 'discipline' this time. We don't want to have another... accident, do we?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, ma'am, I don't."

Her aunt nodded. "Good." She kissed her cheek and opened the passenger door. "Now get out and have a good day at school."

She didn't have to tell her twice.

* * *

Kagome dragged herself down the hallway. She kept her gaze on the floor, refusing to move anywhere else.

A strap of her book-bag hung loosely on her left shoulder. Her arms gripped her books tight to her chest. Her body hunched as she walked, trying to act casual. In the corner of her eye, she saw the other students who were now her schoolmates huddle around the neutral colored lockers. They laughed and talked with their friends as they carried along their everyday morning. They were probably talking about some stupid rumor or some other meaningless gossip, but it sure looked like fun.

Kagome sighed and shook her head. She adjusted her belongings in her arms and fixed the strap of her bag. Summer break had ended, so today was everyone's first day back. The only difference between them and her—she was the new kid.

Yippee, she thought with a roll of her eyes.

Unexpectedly, a pair of hands pushed her aside.

Kagome stumbled. A gasp involuntarily escaped her surprised body when she fell into another person. She fell backwards onto her behind. In the process, she dropped her books and folders to the floor. Some of them flipped open, papers scattering about in reckless abandon. "Oof!" Her eyes closed in a grimace. Pain shot through her tailbone; she winced. Damn it, that hurt.

"Hey, watch where you're going, you stupid girl," a condescending voice snapped.

Her eyebrows wrinkled. "Excuse me?" she growled as she looked up. Her scathing remark vanished when she realized that the person had already walked away. All she saw was long, black hair pulled into a single braid.

Well, that was weird.

Putting the person out of her mind, Kagome grabbed her things one by one. She hoped beyond hope no one noticed her embarrassing moment—she heard the low snickers and giggles from the students around her—never mind. Kagome's face burned. Or at least it would have but she never blushed easily. She muttered, "Oh, god," under her breath.

"Do you you need any help?"

She looked to meet a pair of amused, dark blue eyes above her. The boy was fair-skinned and had short, black hair tied back in a small ponytail. Small, gold earrings hung from his ears. He wore the school's mandatory uniform in a crisp and immaculate manner, unlike the other boys.

Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Um, yeah, I sure could use the help. Thank you."

The boy nodded, knelt and grabbed her books.

She shoved the rest of her belongings he didn't grab into her bag. Great, Kagome, she berated herself, what a way to embarrass yourself in front of your new classmate.

With everything up, the two rose to their feet.

She winced as she stood. The fall had hurt more than she had thought it would.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kagome met his eyes again and touched the back of her neck, smiling. "Oh, um, yeah, I'm alright. It's nothing. It's just a little stinging in my tailbone, that's all."

He shook his head. "No, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about this." He touched her cheek. "Did you get hit by something?"

She laid a hand against her cheek and panicked. Oh no, did her aunt leave a bruise from this morning? Damn it, she had been in such a rush she hadn't had enough time to go and check herself. She put her things down and quickly unzipped her bag, looking for a reflective surface. She found her metallic pencil case, peered into it and looked at the crude reflection of her cheek. A reddish bruise stared back.

Fuck.

Looking away from the mirror, Kagome smiled tightly and waved it off. "Oh, it's nothing. I was playing ball with my younger brother yesterday and I got hit by the ball. It'll clear in a few days."

The boy stared at her for a few extra moments but nodded with a smile, a chipped front tooth showing. "Okay. Anyway, what are you doing carrying around all these books with you? Haven't you find your locker?" he asked.

She nodded slowly.

"Then why are you lugging them around? There are small breaks between classes. You don't need all this with you at once."

Realization dawned onto her and she smiled. "Oh! I-I didn't know. You see, at my old school, we didn't have many breaks between classes, so we had to carry everything to each class. Thanks for letting me know."

He smiled once more. "My name is Miroku. What's yours?"

"Mine's Kagome; it's nice meeting you, Miroku."

"You too, Kagome; do you want me to help you back to your locker?"

Meeting his eyes, Kagome smiled, her eyes crinkling at the edges. "Thanks, Miroku. That would be great."

Miroku nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Alright then; lead the way, Kagome."

* * *

Kagome hurried down the hall for her next class. She scratched her head and grimaced when she came across a delicate part of her scalp, courtesy of—she shook her head of the memory.

She reached the gymnasium and walked to the girls' changing room. She changed uniforms quickly, looking around, wary. Fortunately, there were no other girls present in the changing room. She twisted the combination lock on her assigned locker and opened it, throwing her uniform inside.

"Hello, Freak."

Kagome jumped. There was someone in there with her? She hoped they hadn't seen anything—that would cause trouble that she did not need. She turned to meet three girls. "Hello. Can I help you with something?" she inquired.

One of the girls stepped forward, a small smile on her lips.

She was skinny; she seemed to barely weigh in at one hundred pounds. She had green eyes and a large forehead, a thin band going across. She wore her fiery red hair in two pigtails. The girl wasn't ugly, but she wasn't beautiful either. She wore four holes in her ears. There was a scar on her light skin near her temple; it didn't look like it was going away anytime soon.

"You may. See, I need to talk a couple things over with you," the redheadgirl said, her eyes trailing slowly over Kagome. "Freak."

The other two girls giggled, haughty smiles on their mouths.

Kagome turned mid-way from the group, fiddling with her combination lock once more. "Really?" she said in an amazed voice, "What is it that you need to talk about?"

All of a sudden, a hand gripped her shoulder and forced her around. She stared into a pair of fierce green eyes. The redhead sneered, "You **will** look at me when I'm talking to you, freak. Now, you're in my area and I want you out of it."

Kagome scowled. "But this is my locker."

The redheadgirl narrowed her eyes. Her grip on Kagome's shoulder tightened and her nails dug into the skin. Not a millisecond later, she chuckled softly and released the pressure on her shoulder. Her hand lashed out suddenly at her in a slap.

Kagome's cheek exploded with a flash of pain. "Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

In one violent motion, she shoved Kagome into the lockers. The metal groaned in protest and the locks jingled loud in the silent changing room. Her voice void of emotion, she said, "I don't think you've heard me clearly, **Kagome**."

Kagome gasped weakly, stunned by the impact her back and head made from the sudden movement.

_You make it six steps before a hand grabs the back of your shirt and you're yanked. You're practically choking when you're slammed into the wall. You cough and hold your neck where the shirt collar bit into your skin._

Blue eyes widened. Oh, god, no. Kagome tried to push the girl away, even if she knew it would be futile. "Get away from me!"

The redhead's features twisted and she slapped her again. "Stop struggling, bitch."

Kagome, with reluctance, stopped. She should've known better than to fight this.

She smirked. "Good. Now, I'll say this again. I don't want you anywhere near here."

Kagome quivered but bowed her head in defeat. What was the point of fighting against this? She would never win. "Yes."

The girl leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Good." A hard knee came up then, digging into Kagome's stomach.

"Oof!" Kagome groaned and curled in on herself, coughing as she tried to catch her breath. The aching intensified and her stomach burned. The next second, her butt met the floor. Kagome drew her knees up and listened helplessly to the group's harsh laughter at her pain.

* * *

With a plastic fork and her mashed potatoes, Kagome sculpted a figure. Afterwards, she crushed the figure with the tines of the bendable fork. It wasn't as though it was going to be eaten anyway. She hated mashed potatoes. A sharp pain throbbed in her stomach again and she groaned. Gritting her teeth, she curled an arm around her middle.

Something slamming onto the table spot beside her startled her out of her momentary lapse in concentration. She looked to see the boy from the hallway. What was his name again? she wondered. After a moment, she remembered it to be Miroku.

Miroku laughed as he took his seat. "I didn't mean to scare you, Kagome," he said.

Kagome gave him a weak smile. "It's okay, Miroku." She turned back to her food and gave it a scrutinizing look. Her stomach clenched in pain once more. She decided right then that she wasn't going to be eating any kind of lunch today.

"You okay? You haven't touched your food."

Kagome met his concerned gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not hungry." She grinned passed her frown and pushed her tray to the side.

"You wouldn't mind if I took it, then?" he asked. His hand had already reached out to grab the tray.

Kagome shook her head.

Miroku grinned happily and pulled the tray to his side of the table. He started on the lunch, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes happily into his mouth.

Kagome rolled her eyes in good nature at his eagerness.

"Mou, what a line!" An accented voice complained in English a few minutes later. "And all for just a stupid slice of turkey and mashed potatoes."

Kagome and Miroku both looked up. They watched a girl make their way to the table, a gentle sway to her walk. Curly, dark brown hair bounced with each step. The girl was of average height and had a slender build. Kagome noticed her uniform was a bit different from the rest of the female student body. Her skirt was a little shorter than required and knee socks not school standard.

"Hello, Miroku, how you've been?" the girl asked once she met the table.

Miroku, with his mouth full, nodded his head. He chewed for a minute, swallowed the food and then replied, "I've been fine, my darling Sango, and to what you said earlier, the food sure tastes great."

The girl named Sango smiled and took her seat beside him. After pressing a sticky kiss to his cheek, she turned her attention to Kagome. She raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" she said a bit slow. "Who are you?"

Miroku stuffed more food into his mouth. "That's the new kid, Sango."

Her forehead wrinkled. "We were supposed to get a new kid?"

Miroku nodded. "I guess so."

With a frown, Sango took her plastic fork and twirled it through her mashed potatoes. "How do you know about her?"

"I met her in the hallway earlier. She had fell and dropped her things. I was helping her pick them up."

Sango hummed and looked to Kagome. Her frigid light brown gaze on her face measured her. After an eternity, her eyes warmed and she nodded her head, a ghost of a smile on her face. "I guess you're okay. I'm Sango, Miroku's girlfriend."

Kagome nodded and looked her over. The girl looked Asian. Her facial features were okay. She wasn't any beauty queen but she was pretty in her own way. "I'm Kagome."

With a nod, Sango started her lunch and threw herself into a conversation with Miroku. The couple chattered and laughed about various things. In the meantime, they snuckin little kisses here and there.

Kagome wrinkled her nose. She never had liked public displays of affections. Turning her head away from the scene, she laid her arms on top of the table and cradled her head.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango asked.

She met the light brown gaze. "What do you mean?"

Sango's eyebrows creased. "Are you feeling sick? Um, if you are, I can walk you to the nurse's office."

Kagome blinked and then shook her head. "No, I'm alright, Sango. I just have a slight headache."

Sango pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She tilted her head sideways. She looked uncertain. "Well, if you're sure..." she faltered.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

With a final look, Sango turned back to her conversation with her boyfriend. As the minutes dwindled down, Sango and Miroku stood to their feet. Sango surprised Kagome with a farewell hug and a genuine smile. They soon departed for their next class.

Kagome bid them farewell. Soon the lunch bell rang and she left for her respective class.

* * *

Kagome hiked up the stairs to her house after going to the grocery store to get more food for the house. It was her job to keep the house supplied with all the essentials, including food. She fished for her keys when she reached the door. Upon entry, she took note of the lack of shoes by the door.

Her aunt and brother weren't home yet.

Good.

She removed her shoes and then put away the groceries. Afterwards, she headed to her bedroom. She toed the door closed and threw her bag to the side. The bag landed into a pile of dirty laundry.

She contemplated showering but she was too tired. Instead, she changed out of her uniform into a loose fitting t-shirt. Exhausted, she fell on her bed and went straight to sleep.

* * *

Blue eyes slid open. Throwing the covers off, Kagome crawled toward her alarm clock as she tried to wake her still napping mind. Peering at the neon digital numbers, she sat up it was past seven o'clock and none of her chores were done or dinner made, she jumped off the bed. In the process of rushing, she tripped on a bundle of blankets and met the floor face-first. She took a moment to moan and curse and then got up to continue in a more careful, albeit panicked rush.

"Sh...it!" She bolted out of her bedroom door and into the kitchen. In there, she flipped on the light switch and hurried over to the cabinets and clattered through them with her hands. Pulling out different pots and pans, she started making dinner.

"Kagome, Kagome!~"

She turned to the sing-song voice. Her brother, Souta, stood at the threshold. His usually tidied short, black hair was sleep-mussed and his dark, acorn-sized eyes shined. He was dressed in his blue pajamas. "Sis, I'm hungry," he pouted.

Kagome laughed. "Dinner will be ready soon, Souta."

He grinned and skipped to the small kitchen table, taking a seat.

Kagome turned and went back to completing dinner. She poured the pot of Ramen noodles into two bowls and went about to adding the necessary seasonings, which included little bits of meat and vegetables. Finished with the preparations, Kagome picked up the bowls and slid Souta's in front of him and hers to the other side of the table.

Souta thanked her and then quickly said a prayer (he was the only one of the family who believed in God) and then chow down into his dinner.

"Souta, did you shower before putting on your pajamas?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, Sis—" He yawned suddenly and rubbed at his eyes. "But I fell asleep."

Kagome giggled. "Don't feel so bad about it, Souta. I did too."

"Oh, okay then."

Kagome went back to the sink and dropped her hands into the water. She began to wash the dishes, but paused in scrubbing a particular spot on a plate when she heard her name called. She looked to her brother, her eyebrows raised in question.

"Can you help me with my homework? There are a couple of math problems that I don't get."

With a smile, she replied, "Sure, Souta, I'll help you, but right after I'm done with the chores, okay?" She winked.

Souta grinned and went back to eating his dinner with a happy hum.

Kagome went back to work.

* * *

Kagome awoke in a cold sweat. She breathed loud, ragged breaths. Her heart beat viciously against her chest. Pressure swelled up in Kagome's throat and she bit hard on her lower hands fisted clumps of fabric, knuckles turning ash white. She drew her knees upand wrapped her arms around them in an attempt to calm down.

"_You monster!"__ a voice screamed followed by the resounding sound of a slap._

The pressure released and she cried.

"Kagome..."

Kagome saw her brother's figure standing under the threshold of her bedroom. She wiped her face on the back of her hand and then switched on her desk lamp. "Souta?"

Souta sniffed and rushed over, throwing his arms around her and crying into her chest.

"Souta, what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

He sniffed again, shaking his head against her chest. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I didn't mean to. I don't want Aunt Yura to know,."he sobbed softly.

"Shh... Souta, don't cry. Aunt Yura isn't going to know,." Kagome assured him. She cupped a wet cheek and wiped at his tears with her him a soft smile, she kissed his forehead.

He hiccupped but smiled nonetheless.

Pulling him up onto the bed, she tucked him in. "Rest, okay? I'll be right back."After he agreed, Kagome tiptoed out of the room. Once she was inside of her brother's room, she worked quickly to remove the soiled sheets and changed them. She threw the dirty ones in the harbor for cleaning.

Their aunt did not need to find out about Souta wetting the bed again.

The last time she did...

Kagome cleared her head of the painful memories and went back to fixing the bed. Done, she left to go back to her bedroom. Inside, she walked up to her bed, pulled the sheets backand snuggled into her brother's side.

Souta turned to face her and snuggled sleepily into her front. "I love you, Kagome," he muttered in his sleep.

Circling her arms around his waist in a loose embrace, Kagome buried her face into his soft black hair. "I love you, too, Souta," she whispered back. The tears she held at bay finally fell.

_I'm sorry_.

* * *

To Be Continued. . .

* * *

**AUTHOR NOTE:**  
This is my massive rewrite of my completed story, "Sweetest Addiction" and "Seeing Through Tears" that I posted earlier on FanFiction. Now I know you're probably wondering why I'm doing this instead of posting the sequel for STT or finishing SA. The truth is, I'm a strong believer in rewrites and revisions. In this case, I feel that the original versions needs a lot of work.

I won't bore you with the details, but essentially, I feel like I made some poor authorial choices and decisions for "Seeing Through Tears" and "Sweetest Addiction." Mind you, I enjoyed writing the original versions, but there were some flaws that bothered me. So that's why I'm here with a new version with significant changes.

I promise I will not remove the original versions. I'm aware that you guys might prefer that one better, and in any case, it might be fun to compare the old and new versions since they'll be quite different. I do hope that some of you guys will come to appreciate this new version. As always, I am deeply appreciative of you guys. You have made my time here memorable and I hope you will join me for this new-ish ride.

* * *

Seeing Through Tears. All rights reserved (c) Hana M. 2008-2013

-10.26.2013


End file.
